Thursday, February 28, 2013

During the last two and a half weeks, there have been many
curious reports about the protocols and procedures surrounding today’s papal
abdication.But none of these has
been more curious, in my opinion, than the report a couple of days ago that, as
Pope-Emeritus, Benedict XVI would no longer be wearing his distinctively rosy
footwear.

Shortly after his 2005 election, there was quite a stir in
the secular press over Pope Benedict XVI’s red shoes.Rumors swirled (later disproven but never totally squelched)
that they were made by one of Italy’s most expensive houses of fashion and
exorbitantly expensive.Commentators lamented the extravagance as a sign of the new Pope’s love
of luxury; he’d be a man who would take full advantage of every perk and
privilege of his high office.

And then Benedict XVI announced his resignation.One of the most powerful people in the
world did what the world finds so unimaginable: he freely and humbly renounced
his power in submission to a far higher one.And in so doing, he gave up his red shoes.

An article on those shoes the other day made a remarkable
admission: it appears that we got this man all wrong.Those shoes weren’t about any wanton extravagance at all;
they were, rather, one of many signs of how he would give himself completely to
his ministry as the Successor of St. Peter.*

In the gospel reading at Mass today, we hear the story of “a
rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen” (Luke 16:19).But it’s not his luxurious wardrobe
which determines his eternal destiny.The clothes do not, in fact, make or break the man.It’s that he puts his fine attire and
other worldly possessions, his sumptuous food and other earthly pleasures, his
marks of honor and the other privileges of his high station in life, above any
care and concern for the poor beggar lying just outside his door.In the course of history, there have
been plenty of impoverished sinners, and more than a few well-dressed
saints.But you won’t find a
single person in that saintly communion—rich or poor—who was not humble.

In just a few hours, our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI will
remove his famous red shoes one last time. Today, at the conclusion of his pontificate, let us before sure to
pray for this man who has been such a faithful shepherd for the Church.And as we continue to make our way
through these 40 days of Lent, let us also learn from his humble example:
detaching ourselves from the things of this passing world, that we might instead
be attached only to those things which lead to the joy that endures forever.

* How quickly we forget!Blessed Pope John Paul II (1978-2005) chose to wear brown
shoes, but his pontificate lasted
so long that most of us forgot that Popes before him for centuries—going back
to late Roman times, in fact—have nearly always worn red shoes.

So...St. Augustine thought transubstantiation (although, I admit, the
term wasn’t yet coined) was “ridiculous”?Funny, since he once preached to his congregation:

“You ought to know what you have received, what you are going to receive, and what you ought to receive daily. That Bread which you see on the altar, having been sanctified by the word of God, is the Body of Christ. That chalice, or rather, what is in that chalice, having been sanctified by the word of God, is the Blood of Christ. Through that bread and wine the Lord Christ willed to commend His Body and Blood, which He poured out for us unto the forgiveness of sins. If you receive worthily, you are what you have received” (Sermon 227).

Or, as Mr. Colbert put it, “You are what you eat.”

OK, OK, so Hebrews wasn’t written by St. Paul.But how does that (coupled with the
fact you find it troublesome and crazy) give you the right to simply deny its
divine inspiration and singlehandedly yank it out of the New Testament?

I wouldn't do that with anything "God wrote," if I were you.

And Extreme Unction (more commonly known now as the
Anointing of the Sick) has “no foundation in the early Church”?Really?Funny, the Letter of James (written in the
1st century) just happens to say:

“Is anyone among you sick? He should summon the presbyters* of the church, and they should pray over him and anoint him with oil in the
name of the Lord, and the prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the
Lord will raise him up. If he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven” (James
5:14-15).

*the Greek word for "elders," from which the English word "priest" is derived

So…a Church with no
Eucharist (or other sacraments) and no priesthood. Hmm. I think that's already been tried. But with more scholarly theological arguments than this. And without much success. It
seems Mr. Wills previously wrote a book titled, Why I Am a Catholic.A
good question, indeed.
Thank you, Mr. Colbert! Let's join him in praying for Mr. Wills.

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

"I am strengthened and reassured by the certainty that the Church is Christ’s, who will never leave her without his guidance and care. I thank all of you for the love and for the prayers with which you have accompanied me. Thank you; in these days which have not been easy for me, I have felt almost physically the power of prayer – your prayers – which the love of the Church has given me. Continue to pray for me, for the Church and for the future Pope. The Lord will guide us."

Pope Benedict XVI

General Audience, February 13, 2013

O Lord Jesus Christ, Supreme Pastor of Your Church, we thank you for the ministry of Pope Benedict XVI and the selfless care with which he has led us as Successor of Peter, and Your Vicar on earth.

Good Shepherd, who founded Your Church on the rock of Peter's faith and have never left Your flock untended, look with love upon us now, and sustain Your Church in faith, hope, and charity.

Grant, Lord Jesus, in Your boundless love for us, a new Pope for Your Church who will please You by his holiness and lead us faithfully to You, who are the same yesterday, today, and forever.

I’m
starting my Lent by stealing.
That’s most certainly a bad idea…but at least I’m not compounding the
situation by lying about it, too!

The
other day, Fr. Tom shared an idea for his homily with the students from Holy
Family School, which he then used at their Ash Wednesday Mass earlier this
morning.It’s that idea I’m
stealing.

You
see, Fr. Tom told the school children that we’d had such a huge crowd at the
early Mass today that we ran out of ashes.But he also told the kids not to worry because he had found
a substitute…which is when he pulled out a large, black, permanent marker.

Now,
over the years I’ve had a few folks come up to me after Mass on Ash Wednesday
asking for a second dose, since their first smudge of didn’t stick too
well.Maybe permanent marker would
be a better choice for some!

So…why
ashes instead of something else?

Since
Old Testament times, ashes have been a sign of sorrow, of mourning, of
repentance.They remind us of our
humble beginnings—that God first formed man from the dust of the earth—and they
remind us of our mortal end—that, on account of sin, we will die and return to
dust and ashes once more.And, in
my opinion anyway, ashes are therefore the perfect choice because—unlike that black
marker—they don’t stay on your forehead forever.Ashes will wash off again.

People
deal with their ashes in all kinds of ways.Some, as I’ve said, wear them around rather proudly.But I also often see bangs (for those
of us who still have enough hair to do so) quickly moved back into place to
cover over the black smear.More
often than not, however, we simply overlook that they’re there—mistakenly
brushing them away in the course of the day.

If
you got your face dirty on any other day of the year, what would your natural
instinct be?To scrub it clean, of
course!And the sooner, the
better!And that’s what Ash
Wednesday calls us to, as well.

These
ashes we’re about to receive are a sign of sorrow for our sins.And we deal with our sins in much the
same way we deal with our ashes.Sometimes we flaunt them, or at least wallow in them awhile since we’re
not really ready to let them go.Sometimes we attempt to hide them—from others, from ourselves, and
even—always unsuccessfully—from God.Most often, we carry on as if, should we just forget about them or brush
them aside, they will simply go away on their own.

But
you and I both know: none of those techniques ever really works.

We
need the same instinct for our dirty souls as we normally have for our dirty
faces!When our hearts get grimy
with sin, they need to be washed clean. It is for this that the Son of God came to dwell among
us: to take away the sins of the world!It is for this that Christ died and rose again: to wash away our sins in
his own blood!

In
today’s gospel, Jesus advocates the traditional practices of almsgiving,
prayer, and fasting—acts of penance which are so much a part of our Lenten
observance—as ways to tidy things up a bit.For minor transgressions, for our lesser weaknesses, those
work just fine.But our serious
sins require a bit more scrubbing.And so, through the Church, Christ has given us the Sacrament of
Penance.Lent is our annual
spiritual spring-cleaning, and confession is for deep down scouring.Don’t put it off!Don’t make excuses!Our sins don’t have to be permanent
stains.“Now is the acceptable
time!Now is the day of
salvation!”Resolve today that
this Lent, during these coming forty days, you will allow the Lord, in his
great mercy, to cleanse you to the core.

We’ve
come here today—a day of fasting—for ashes: a mark that’s meant from the start
to come off again.So before you
go to bed tonight, be sure to wash your face.And before Easter dawns, be sure you’ve also allowed Christ
to scrub your soul.

Mary, Virgin and Mother

We fly to your patronage,O holy Mother of God;despise not our petitions

in our necessities,but deliver us from all evil,O glorious and blessed Virgin.

Saint Joseph

Pray for us!

"St. Joseph was

an ordinary sort of man

on whom God relied

to do great things."

--St. Josemaria Escriva

Saint Barnabas

Pray for us!

"...Joseph,

also named by the apostles Barnabas

(which is translated

son of encouragement)..."

--Acts 4:36

Saint Bruno

Pray for us!

"Only those who have experienced

the solitude and silence

of the wilderness

can know the benefit and divine joy

they bring to those who love them."

--St. Bruno

(1030-1101)

Saint Francis of Assisi

Pray for us!

"You should never let anyone

leave your presence in sadness."

--St. Francis of Assisi

(1181-1226)

Saint Philip Neri

Pray for us!

"A servant of God

ought always to be happy."

--St. Philip Neri

(1515-1595)

Saint John Francis Regis

Pray for us!

"No violence of cold, no snows...,

no mountains, or torrents...,

could be an obstacle to his zeal."

--comment of a contemporary

of St. John Francis Regis

(1597-1640)

Saint John Mary Vianney

Pray for us!

"Our faults

are like grains of sand

next to the great mountain

of the mercies of God."

--St. John Vianney

(1786-1859)

Saint Thérèse of Lisieux

Pray for us!

"The value of life does not depend

upon the place we occupy;

it depends upon the way

we occupy that place."

--St. Thérèse of Lisieux

(1873-1897)

Saint André Bessette

Pray for us!

"It is with the smallest brushes

that the Artist paints

the most exquisitely

beautiful pictures."

--St. André Bessette

(1845-1937)

Blessed Charles de Foucauld

Pray for us!

"The absence of risk

is a sure sign

of mediocrity."

--Blessed Charles de Foucauld

(1858-1916)

Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati

Pray for us!

"The higher we go,

the better we shall hear

the voice of Christ."

--Blessed Pier Girogio Frassati

(1901-1925)

Saint John Paul II

Pray for us!

"Up to the evening of your life

remain in wonder and gratitude

for that mysterious call

which one day echoed

in the depths of your spirit:

Follow me!”

--Blessed John Paul II

(1920-2005)

Keep smiling!

“I’m not a man who constantly thinks up jokes. But I think it’s very important to be able to see the funny side of life and its joyful dimension and not to take everything too tragically. I’d also say it’s necessary for my ministry. A writer once said that angels can fly because they don't take themselves too seriously. Maybe we could also fly a bit if we didn’t think we were so important.”